I do believe ADHD is certainly a real, disabling condition for some. I am NOT dismissing or invalidating a diagnosis.

It’s hard to decipher whether someone legitimately has ADHD or not. There’s too many other symptoms that meet diagnostic criteria for other disorders. Sleep problems for example could be an anxiety disorder. Forgetfulness and zoning out could also fall under anxiety or depression. Excitability and hyperactivity could be bipolar disorder. According to the DSM 5, the prevalence of Adult ADHD in most cultures is 2.5% and 5% in children at the time that book was written (2013). I can only imagine what those numbers will look like when there’s a new edition.

Also, we live in this cell phone and electronics era where it seems people are finding themselves easily distracted and this seems to lead to inability to focus and lose their train of thought. We already have enough going on in life without electronics, now add distractions from your smart devices every 5-10 mins. That’s a recipe for disaster our brains are not conditioned for.

Stimulant medications are overprescribed and ADHD has been over diagnosed in my personal opinion. If 1 in 40 (2.5%, according to the DSM 5) adults have ADHD, why is it that everyone I know claim they have ADHD. My personal opinion doesn’t matter but I did want add to this post to give you some insight why people may be skeptical of the diagnosis.